Hi,

I currently rent in CA and have struggled since the last year or so trying to buy a place in the city where we live (ours is an Asian dominated city and most of the transactions in the last few years have been all cash, and we dont have that kind of money). While we look for a house here in CA, we are thinking of buying an investment property in Phoenix.

My questions

1. Does the tax law allow me to claim the mortgage interest deduction for an investment property while I still rent myself?

2. I may need to move out of the country by the end of the year. Can I continue to claim the mortgage interest deduction in my tax return even though I am not physically in the US?

Will appreciate a response

Thanks!